Tragedy On The Home Front

This is a revision to the original post.

With the permission from the family I have inserted a picture of Riley “Roo” Russell’s pickup that he was driving when he got into the accident.  The dark colored pickup is the one that Riley was driving.  This kid is so lucky to be alive.  Someone upstairs was looking out for him.

The small community of Alsea Oregon is a close knit community. It’s one of those communities that stick together and there are no unknown faces. On August 2nd around 6 P.M., tragedy stuck this small community and left them with pain, heartbreak, fear and struggling with how to cope with it. Seventeen year old Riley Russell was on his way to his girlfriend’s house when he was struck head on by another vehicle. The women’s vehicle crossed into his lane and has left him in very serious condition.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is the most recent update, 8/3: He went into surgery this morning to fix his bladder and right now they are putting screws and plates in his pelvis. He has two broken legs, a broken ankle, a broken rib and his jaw is broken in multiple places. They said that they will probably have to take out a lot of his teeth and he will have to be on a feeding tube for about six weeks before he can even start to eat soft food again. And of course he’s all cut up from the glass.

Riley is senior in high school this year and he’s a star basketball player and more than likely will not be able to play. He has been working all summer to put a new engine and new tires on his truck, which is now not even recognizable.

Riley is very lucky to be alive. He will need much medical attention, which will be very expensive. If you can donate even $1 to this fundraiser it would be greatly appreciated by him, his family and friends. If not, that’s OK, share the fundraiser. Maybe one of our other friends on Facebook can. If you can’t donate, send some prayers. This family needs it right now

Do you ask how I know this young man? I don’t. He is a very close family friend of my friend, J.O. Her oldest daughter and Riley grew up together. I know there are still a lot of good people in this world. Stop thinking about politics for just a bit and share this post. Now is the time to pull together and show support for this family.

So please, donate, share and pray.

https://www.gofundme.com/2hw9dn8

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of my readers, friends and family, a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.  Be safe and enjoy your families.

Happy Birthday Mom

I love you very much Mom, and I hope you have a great day.

Happy Father’s Day

My husband is not the biological father to my kids, but he is their “daddy” in every way.  He is the best Dad they could ever ask for.  Happy Father’s Day baby, thanks for everything you do. 

And a very special Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and Dad Joe.  I love you both very much and I hope you have a great day.

I also want to wish all of the Dad’s out there a happy father’s day.

Memorial Day

You know, I was sitting here yesterday trying to find something to post for Memorial Day.  I was looking for some kind of nice poem of some sort to honor our veterans and our loved ones that are no longer with us.  And then I thought to myself, why do we need a special day to honor them?  Shouldn’t we honor them ever day?  We shouldn’t need a special day to remember them.

When a lot of people think of Memorial Day, they think of camping trips, picnics, the beginning of the Summer season, except in Oregon, getting a paid holiday off from work and the Indy 500.  I have to admit, I am one of those people too.  But I think we all take this “holiday” for granted, and I think a lot of people have forgotten the true meaning of Memorial Day.

So with that said, God bless all of our fallen solders that are no longer with us.  They are in our thoughts.  And please keep our solders that are still with us safe while they are fighting for us and our country. 

Chief Master Sergeant McCarthy, stay safe and come home soon, we think about you every day.

Happy Mother’s Day

To all the Mom’s/Grandma’s/Great Grandma’s out there………………

A Face To Make You Smile

These are the most recent pictures of our beautiful grandaughter, Miss. Bella, taken this morning.  Just wanted to share with everyone.

World Cancer Day

In my opinion there shouldn’t be a specific day dedicated to cancer, every day should be world cancer day.  We should pray for a cure each and every day.  My mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor and I also have an aunt that is a breast cancer survivor.  I thank God every day that they survived it.  My family is lucky they are still with us.

Sandra and Aunt Bev, thank you for being strong and fighting this battle.  We are very glad that we have you in our lives.

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas.  I hope each and every one of you have a fantastic holiday with your families.  And thanks for coming back every day.

God bless, may you be safe during your holiday travels and Merry Christmas everyone!

Best Christmas Poem Ever

This was sent to me in an e-mail from my aunt, it’s a request from a soldier in Iraq and he asked that it be forwarded to as many people as possible.  It’s a long read, but very nice and worth it, and it’s my pleasure to pass it on to my readers.  God bless our solders and please come home safe, and thank you for taking care of us.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts…

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said, “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

“In God We Trust “